New York Rangers: Problematic defensemen pack offensive punch

There is no doubt the New York Rangers have a problem on defense. But while key players struggle in their own end, they may be better than most give them credit for.

Back in September, with the season around the corner, many expected the New York Rangers to be dangerous with their forward depth but ultimately undermined by a flawed defense corps.

That prediction more or less came true. The Rangers are on the ropes against the Ottawa Senators, and the usual suspects on defense struggling mightily in the series. Marc Staal and Dan Girardi, the much-maligned veterans of the last few seasons, are again prime suspects for blown leads and key losses.

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Things are bad enough that, with the Rangers just one loss away from packing up for the summer, Staal and Girardi could very well be preparing to their final game for New York.

But, at least in the case of Girardi, things might not be as bad as they at first appear.

“Defensive” defenseman?

Dan Girardi built a career and a reputation on being a safe, defense-first defenseman. Known much better for blocking shots and shutting players down on the Rangers’ top defensive pair, Girardi is an undrafted Cinderella story.

The reality, especially in the last four or five seasons, is surprisingly far off of that.

Girardi is a poster boy for analytics criticism. With season after season of sub-50% shot attempt numbers and worse relative to his teammates, the “defensive” defenseman’s results are a far cry from his reputation.

But on the flip side of that is the fact that Girardi has shown startling instincts in the offensive zone.

In the 2017 playoffs—especially in this series against the Ottawa Senators—Girardi has often appeared below the faceoffs dots, forechecking in the offensive zone or cycling low to open up space.

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With such a sharp divide between reputation and reality, Girardi makes an interesting case for remaining on the Rangers, albeit with reduced minutes.

His offensive counting stats can’t be compared to a Brent Burns or Erik Karlsson. But if the Rangers got five or six goals and 15 or so assists from a third pairing defender? Not so bad.

Expansion bait

Meanwhile, another Rangers defenseman who’s come under the microscope is a newcomer: Nick Holden.

Unlike Girardi, Holden’s counting stats this season look pretty good: 11 goals, 23 assists, plus-13 in 80 games. And it didn’t come completely out of nowhere. Holden is only a few years removed from a 10-15—25 season in only 54 games with the Colorado Avalanche in 2013-14.

Those numbers could be attractive for a Vegas Golden Knights team that will be looking at slim pickings for veteran defensemen in the expansion draft.

Digging deeper, especially in the 2017 playoffs, this might come as a relief for the Rangers. Holden, along with linemate Marc Staal, was the whipping boy in multiple Rangers losses.

It was Holden who broke his stick and failed to cover Tomas Plekanec on the Canadiens’ tying goal of Game Two in the first round. It was Holden who made the mind-boggling pinch in overtime of Game Two against the Senators, leading to the winning goal against.

Holden’s defensive play in general has been poor all season, with a penchant for memorable misplays that lead directly to goals against. This was only magnified in the postseason.

So, Holden has been something of a Jekyll and Hyde case for the Rangers. He scores goals on one end of the ice while consistently giving them up at the other. If Las Vegas does end up selecting him in the expansion draft, they’ll have solved one dilemma for the Rangers.

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But if they don’t, New York will have a decision to make. Holden is apparently beloved of the coach, yet responsible for some of the biggest goals against of the playoffs.